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[twistedcherokee]

First I get the shoes from harleydavidsontensioners.com. Their bad instructions & my not paying attention, caused me to ruin a tensioner. So I bought a new one, no problem they are not that expensive (but every little thing does add up). Then when I was lining up the cams I noticed a bad spot on 1 of my cams (good excuse to go gear drive). then putting them in I put the cams in the wrong spot, had the front in the rear & the rear in the front, so I got those swapped. Went to check backlash, can't feel any, cams turn freely, so there is some (will put a gauge on it tomorrow). So I decided I better check the outer gears, none there either (again they spin freely without any binding). So now I will double check with a gauge tomorrow, but I have a feeling I am going to have to get undersized gears. So it will be another week with out the Ultra. To top it off, I found some bad wires up under the rear fender, so I thought I might as well fix those & I can't find my soldering iron, paste or solder. Good news is the front pulley is on, I was just too tired to put the primary back together tonight.

  Toby

[eleft36]

Will the nightmare ever end?
Not 'till Murphy's law is repealed.

Al

[hdaliaconis]

Don't work when you're tired.  Everything looks and works better in the morning.   

[jr1000yarder]

Don't work when you're tired.  Everything looks and works better in the morning.   

What he said!

[dlaws01]

The closer you look, the more you'll keep finding. It will feel great knowing that you corrected all those little issues when you are rolling down the highway.

[lilcoot]

Yes, Toby, the nightmare will end.  And next year, you'll probably take on another nightmare.

I feel your pain, brother.  Last summer I did some work on my top end.  It was my first time working on a Harley, and it was a tragic comedy.

After tearing everything apart, I realized I received the black cylinders instead of the granite.  After I got the correct cylinders two weeks later, I bent a ring trying to install a piston.  When I got a new set of rings a week later and was almost finished reassembling things, I dropped a tappet cover screw, which found it's way into the cam chest.  After hours of fishing with magnets, I was resigned to the fact that I'd have to give up and have the bike trailered to a dealer to be disassembled to get the screw out.  I tried one last time, and somehow got the screw out.  Next, replaced the compensator and tensioner, and poured a $17 quart of Red Line Primary Oil in without putting the drain plug back in.  Didn't know 'til I saw the oil spreading over the garage floor.  

Finally got everything back together and fired her up.  Purred like a kitten - for about 30 seconds.  Lifters started clicking, and within seconds sounded like the motor was going to come apart.  Turns out I hadn't tightened one of the adjustable pushrods enough.  

As long as it took, I really enjoyed seeing the project come together, and found it extremely satisfying to do the work myself.  I'm looking forward to tearing into the bike again, 'though I'm still trying to decide what this year's project will be.  Sound system and head work?  Of course, new handle bars and cams would be nice, too...

[twistedcherokee]

Thanks for the support, but I really want to get my bike done (tired comes with age). I agree not to mention, don't work on them when the whole day has been bad. I am hopeful that I will be ok, after sleeping on it & talking with co workers, .0005-.001 is too small to feel & I really need to put a gauge on it. And since it turns freely, I think it might be ok. I won't be able to work on it this weekend, but maybe Monday.

 

  Toby

[twistedcherokee]

Why is it that when the engine is on TDC #1 the crank gear is not where it is supposed to be, the piston is already going down .


Here is where it is @ TDC



As you can see on the crank gear the flat is rotated so the flat would be perpendicular with the cam gear. I hope I got the pics in the right order.

  Toby

[murphy]

Not 'till Murphy's law is repealed.

Al

Now you know where I got my name!

[Doc 1]

Why is it that when the engine is on TDC #1 the crank gear is not where it is supposed to be, the piston is already going down .


Here is where it is @ TDC



As you can see on the crank gear the flat is rotated so the flat would be perpendicular with the cam gear. I hope I got the pics in the right order.

  Toby

Don't worry about TDC.....just align the two marks up on the gears.
Doc

[sadunbar]

I'm guessing you have the screwdriver stuck in the front cylinder (cylinder #2) instead of the rear cylinder (cylinder #1).  That would be your second mistake.  Your first mistake is sticking a steel screwdriver into a cylinder while looking for top dead center.  If you must stick something in a cylinder, use a pencil or something similiar...

Put your rear cylinder at the top of the stroke and I think you will find your timing marks line up just fine!   

[twistedcherokee]

Thanks, guess it would help with checking #1. You would have thought that the front one was #1, should have known. When I checked the rear cylinder it was @ TDC. As for the screw driver, holding on to the screw driver & rotating the rear tire, there is no problems. Now if you just set the screw driver in the hole & rotate the engine, i could see that being a problem. Now I just need to get a undersized front gear.

  Toby

[sadunbar]

Thanks, guess it would help with checking #1. You would have thought that the front one was #1, should have known. When I checked the rear cylinder it was @ TDC. As for the screw driver, holding on to the screw driver & rotating the rear tire, there is no problems. Now if you just set the screw driver in the hole & rotate the engine, i could see that being a problem. Now I just need to get a undersized front gear.

  Toby

Whatever you think, but doing so, you're only one slip away from your nightmare continuing...  Might be best to rotate your cams and crank until your alignment marks align, and then if you feel the need, check the rear piston to verify it's at TDC.   

[cahdbiker]

Lilcoot, congrats on getting that screw out of your cam chest. It is amazing that if you sit back, take a little break and give it one more try how often what seems overwhelming happens. Believe me I have had similar experiences. Dropped a ball bearing  that goes in the  accelerator pump on a 4 barrel carb I was rebuilding on the garage floor. Took me 2 hours to find  that little sucker,( it was under the washing machine) but put it together and all was well. What a great feeling. CAHDBIKER

Yes, Toby, the nightmare will end.  And next year, you'll probably take on another nightmare.

I feel your pain, brother.  Last summer I did some work on my top end.  It was my first time working on a Harley, and it was a tragic comedy.

After tearing everything apart, I realized I received the black cylinders instead of the granite.  After I got the correct cylinders two weeks later, I bent a ring trying to install a piston.  When I got a new set of rings a week later and was almost finished reassembling things, I dropped a tappet cover screw, which found it's way into the cam chest.  After hours of fishing with magnets, I was resigned to the fact that I'd have to give up and have the bike trailered to a dealer to be disassembled to get the screw out.  I tried one last time, and somehow got the screw out.  Next, replaced the compensator and tensioner, and poured a $17 quart of Red Line Primary Oil in without putting the drain plug back in.  Didn't know 'til I saw the oil spreading over the garage floor.  

Finally got everything back together and fired her up.  Purred like a kitten - for about 30 seconds.  Lifters started clicking, and within seconds sounded like the motor was going to come apart.  Turns out I hadn't tightened one of the adjustable pushrods enough.  

As long as it took, I really enjoyed seeing the project come together, and found it extremely satisfying to do the work myself.  I'm looking forward to tearing into the bike again, 'though I'm still trying to decide what this year's project will be.  Sound system and head work?  Of course, new handle bars and cams would be nice, too...

[twistedcherokee]

Considering that it did not bind, I had an extra gasket & my dial indicator has a tolerance of .001 I decided to put the stock gear in. If it would have whined I would then go to the undersized gear. Guess what, just a whisper of a whine that you really have to listen for. But with the Fulsac true duals, I can see that #1 (rear) cyl is running way too rich, one thing at a time, right. I have had issues with the injectors before & replaced them & a year later one of the new ones went out. We have a injector flow bench & cleaner at work & have my machinist building a block to do those injectors, will get on him to get that finished. Poor thing is going to need a paint job before too long, one of the saddle bags fell over & got scratched, the jack handle fell down & got one of my side covers, my front fender got a healthy scratch ? that and 100K the chips. Next project. Going to ride before that one.

  Toby

[twistedcherokee]

Got the wires fixed, idle adjusted, belt & rear tire aligned. Took it for a road test. I changed the gearing, cams & went to Fulsac TD. Took it for a ride. It seems a little anemic @ 60mph in 5th but does great at 80mph. 4th @ 60 is not bad if it is hitting a head wind or a hill, but on the flats with no load it is great. Will take it to work tomorrow & put the gas analyzer on it to see how it is running.

  Toby

[timo482]

true dual or x pipe?

true dual is usually anemic at low rpm

to

[twistedcherokee]

True Duals. I rode it to work today & it ran great. For being geared a little taller it is not noticeable at all. It gets to 80mph with no effort. Easy to get going & just cruise. On the uphill grade going home with a healthy head wind, it did better than before. I went from SE 203's to the Andrews 37G's, I am pleased.

  Toby